Old faces and new will shred their way through the American southwest setting across three different disciplines: skiing, snowboarding and snowmobile.

The snow stars will entertain in formats such as slopestyle, big air, SuperPipe and freestyle, with the aim being to produce tricks that never been seen before to earn high scores.

This year’s Winter X Games fall just a fortnight before the 2018 Winter Olympics are scheduled to kick off in Pyeongchang, South Korea, next month, and the Colorado event will act as a gruelling warm-up for that trip.

Read on as we preview a selection of must-watch athletes set to take part at the 2018 Winter X Games, complete with schedule information and details on how to tune in.

Start Date: Thursday, January 25

End Date: Sunday, January 28

Live Stream: WatchESPN (U.S.)

TV Info: ESPN (U.S.), ABC (U.S.)

Visit the ESPN website for a breakdown of the event’s TV schedule in full.

Preview

One heroine who is guaranteed to grab headlines in 2018 is snowboarding phenomenon Chloe Kim, who is on the cusp of competing in her fifth successive Winter X Games—despite still being just 17 years of age.

Kim took bronze in the SuperPipe event last year after back-to-back golds in 2015 and 2016, and she will be looking to reclaim her prestigious status at the pinnacle of women’s snowboarding.

There’s no question regarding the potential Kim boasts as an athlete, although her famous perfect 100 score at the 2016 U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix is an indicator:

That run made her one of only two athletes to seal a perfect 100 run on the SuperPipe, and the X Games gives Kim the chance to show the world the most recent fruits of her labours:

The other athlete to nail a 100 run is snowboarding legend Shaun White, who returns to Buttermilk on Thursday looking to end his now five-year medal hoodoo, having not finished on a podium in Aspen since 2013.

Controversy and other obstacles have blocked him from competing of late—such as ESPN’s decision not to invite him to the X Games in 2016—but White has a history here, and he still has time to add to his 13 X Games gold medals:

There’s some mystery surrounding the 31-year-old, with fans perfectly knowledgable of his decorated past and yet fearful an aged talent perhaps doesn’t boast the same threat at this level.

Then again, White recently confirmed his place on Team USA for the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, and so he can’t have lost too much of that talent:

White is a known quantity, but the world of X Games is still only finding out about Kelly Sildaru, the 15-year-old Estonian ski prodigy who last year became the youngest athlete to win two gold medals at the Winter X Games.

Sildaru also took a big air silver medal last year in addition to her second slopestyle gold, and she’ll be jostling among the major contenders to finish atop the pile in both disciplines in 2018.

As for the men’s skiing, Britain’s James Woods will be one to keep an eye on, as he’s hoping to retain the gold he won in the big air competition in 2017 and is looking in good shape for his defence thus far.